From Too Many Chefs - www.toomanychefs.com

February 17, 2004

Lentil/Cabbage Salad

I just finished the leftovers from this dish I made on Sunday. It's twisted enough from the original that I'm claiming it as an original recipe in its own right. It's pretty low fat, high on protein and great for using up the remains of a big head of savoy cabbage.

Wash and pick over the lentils, discarding any stones or discolored lentils. Place in a medium sauce pan and cover with water by two inches. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover. If you want more flavor, use a stock instead of water to cover lentils.

Meanwhile make dressing. Combine mustard and red wine vinegar with a whisk. Grate 1/2-1 teaspoon (7-15g) of lemon zest into dressing. Drizzle olive oil in to dressing slowly while whisking to create an emulsion.

Taste dressing when you've got most of the oil in. Add minced garlic, and grind in pepper if desired. If too oily, whisk in more red wine vinegar, if too vinegary, whisk in a little drizzled olive oil.

When lentils are soft, but before they get mushy, remove pot from stove and drain. Toss lentils in a big bowl with most of dressing. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Stir the lentils and dressing every ten minutes or so to ensure proper distribution of the dressing.

Next, In a large skillet, sautee onion and garlic in two tablespoons olive oil until soft. "Hula-hoop" the onions (put the corner of your spatula in the center of an onion slice and make rapid tiny circles) so rings separate.

Toss cabbage mix together with lentil/dressing mix. Add rest of dressing and toss. Salt and pepper to taste. There's a lot of unseasoned vegetable matter there, so you may have to be heavy handed on the pepper and/or the salt.

Serve at room temperature or cold.

The raw garlic in the dressing adds a contrast to the mellow browned garlic from the onion/cabbage mix. The lentils just soak up the dressing. When you're done you should have a salad that's dressed well, but not drowned.

Weight Watchers Note: if you decrease the lentils to 120 grams, use only a tablespoon of olive oil to fry the onions and a teaspoon in the dressing, this makes two generous portions at 4 points each. It's a very tasty and satisfying option for a Weight Watcher's meal and you really don't miss the extra oil!

Posted by Barrett in Maryland at February 17, 2004 1:34 PM
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